Cairo protesters camp outside palace

CAIRO: Egypt's presidential palace was encircled by anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters on Tuesday night as the constitutional crisis caused by Mohammed Mursi's assumption of powers showed no sign of abating.

Dr Mursi was forced to leave the Cairo palace through a back door as up to 100,000 people moved in to surround it. Some stones were thrown, one hitting the rear car in the president's convoy.

This constitution is worse than the Mubarak constitution. The Brotherhood are using the poor and religion to divide society.

Maryam Samy, protester

Ignoring volleys of tear gas, the protesters burst through two police lines to reach the palace, which was the site of the final act in the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the former dictator, last year. The demonstrators chanted: "The people want the downfall of the regime".

Dr Mursi thought he had won a significant victory on Monday, when the Supreme Judicial Council countermanded decisions by judges to boycott a referendum set to approve a constitution that opponents say is Islamist and fails to respect key rights. But Tuesday night's rally suggested opposition would continue.

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"Thousands of people are joining us in this demonstration against the dictatorship of the Ikhwan [Brotherhood]," said Hussein Abdelghani, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front. The front is the coalition of liberal, leftist and secular parties led by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former United Nations Atomic Agency chief, which is organising the protests.

"We are going to use any possible, civil means to send a message to both the president and the international community," he added.

Protesters run from smoke from a tear gas canister thrown by riot police. Photo: Reuters

Maryam Samy, 25, a telecommunications engineer, said: "The new constitution has no compromise. They want to apply their own standards of freedom, which is not freedom. This constitution is worse than the Mubarak constitution. The Brotherhood are using the poor and religion to divide society."

The rally provided a stark illustration of the dividing line that has cut across Egypt.

Saturday's marches by the Muslim Brotherhood also mustered hundreds of thousands, largely from the suburbs and the conservative provincial towns. Yesterday's crowd was younger and more modern and included thousands of women, many not wearing headscarves.

Many were dismissive of the Brotherhood's supporters. Ali Sisy, the deputy editor of Masry al-Youm, one of the main liberal newspapers, said bluntly: "This is a conflict between ignorance and civilisation."

The Brotherhood insists the constitution contains basic rights and freedoms, including of speech and belief, as well as recognising Egypt's traditional, Muslim culture. It says the referendum, set for December 15, will end Dr Mursi's self-proclaimed powers to act without judicial oversight on "sovereign matters".

It accuses opposition leaders like Mr ElBaradei of being responsible for the impasse, since they have refused to meet Dr Mursi until he backs down on those powers. "We're glad Egyptians are able to express opinion freely and hopefully peacefully," the Brotherhood's website said. "Ballot box to decide outcome."